Blade and Green Goblin Join the Marvel Tōkon Open Beta: Avoiding the 'Happy New Year' Combo

Fighting game fans, the wait is almost over. Arc System Works is preparing to unleash the highly anticipated server tests for MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls. Running from July 24 to July 26 on PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, this weekend is poised to be a massive event for the fighting game community. With the official August 6, 2026 release date looming just over the horizon, this free, no-preorder-required period serves as the ultimate testing ground for the ambitious 4v4 tag team fighter.

The developers have confirmed that the open beta July 2026 build will feature a robust playable roster, giving players an extensive taste of what the final 20-character launch lineup has to offer. But what has the FGC truly buzzing this week is the confirmation that both Blade and Green Goblin will be fully playable. Alongside evaluating the rollback netcode, players will finally get to experiment with their unique toolkits. Whether you plan to lab your favorite heroes, test out optimal assist calls, or grind the online matchmaking, this weekend is your chance to adapt to the lightning-fast neutral game and gorgeous anime aesthetics.

Blade and Green Goblin Enter the Fray

Up until now, fans have seen extensive preview footage of core roster members like Magneto, Storm, and Peni Parker, but the upcoming test marks the hands-on debut for some of the most requested fighters on the roster.

According to recent media confirmations, Blade, representing the Samurai Outriders team, will be fully unlocked. For players looking to utilize the Daywalker, you should anticipate a fast-paced, sword-wielding rushdown archetype. His weapon-based normal attacks are expected to provide excellent horizontal space control, while his movement options will allow him to stick to the opponent and apply constant frame advantage. Fighting game veterans know that Arc System Works excels at designing high-octane sword fighters, and Blade’s Assemble Gauge usage will likely heavily favor aggressive lockdown assists, enabling him to mix up the opponent with brutal high/low traps. If you like playing aggressively and overwhelming your opponent with relentless blockstrings, Blade might become your immediate point character.

On the other side of the spectrum, Green Goblin will bring an entirely different flavor of chaotic pressure. As a central antagonist and a core member of the villainous Knights of Doom faction, Norman Osborn relies on his Goblin Glider for unmatched aerial mobility and screen-filling gadget attacks. Players gravitating toward Goblin will likely want to dominate the airspace, tossing Pumpkin Bombs to control the neutral game and force the opponent into defensive blocking patterns. If he plays anything like the classic zoner and flyer hybrids seen in past team fighters, he will be an absolute nightmare to anti-air. Controlling his flight trajectory while simultaneously calling assists to cover his landing recovery will be the key to unlocking his potential.

Defining the “Happy New Year” Combo

One of the most fascinating aspects of MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls is its ambitious 4v4 structure. With four characters available on each team, the screen can get incredibly hectic in a matter of seconds. In the traditional FGC lexicon, catching a point character and an assist character in the exact same combo string is affectionately called a “Happy Birthday.” In 3v3 team fighters, catching the point character and two assists simultaneously is a “Merry Christmas.”

So, what happens when you catch a point character and all three incoming assists simultaneously in a 4-on-4 fighter? The community over on the Marvel Tōkon subreddit has already coined the appropriate terminology: the “Happy New Year.”

Because MARVEL Tōkon features a shared health system, the stakes of getting caught in a multi-character cross-up are astronomical. If your opponent manages to trap your point character and all three of your assists in a tight corner loop, you aren’t just taking damage on sidelined characters—your shared team health bar will completely melt away. While system mechanics like damage scaling will mitigate some of the most extreme one-touch scenarios, the pure hitstun and meter-building potential for the attacking player could be devastating. Catching all four characters in a single super move will undoubtedly generate the most hype tournament clips of the year.

This makes understanding how the tag system works absolutely critical for any competitive player. You must be extremely deliberate with your assist calls. Throwing out assists wildly in the neutral game without proper blockstun coverage is a surefire way to hand your opponent a Happy New Year on a silver platter.

Resource Management: Surviving the 4v4 Chaos

As you log in this weekend, your eyes need to be glued to three specific meters on the user interface. Misunderstanding these resources is the fastest way to lose a match.

First is the Vital Gauge. Since the entire four-person squad (whether you are running the Unbreakable X-Men, Amazing Guardians, or Fighting Avengers) shares one massive health bar, you do not have to worry about individual character life totals or forced snapbacks killing your anchor. However, this also means that taking damage on any character brings your entire team closer to a collective wipeout.

Next is the Assemble Gauge. This is arguably the most important resource in the entire game because it dictates your team synergy. You need this gauge to call in your teammates for covering fire, extending your basic hit confirms, or tagging them in safely when your point character is in a bad spot. If your Assemble Gauge is on cooldown because you spammed your assists indiscriminately, you are essentially fighting a 1v1 battle in a 4v4 game, which is an insurmountable disadvantage against a coordinated opponent.

Finally, there is the Skill Gauge. This functions as your traditional super meter. You spend the Skill Gauge to perform EX special moves—which often grant you invincibility frames on startup or vastly enhanced frame data—and massive cinematic super attacks. Keep in mind that the community has mistakenly referred to this as a “Soul Gauge” in the past, but the official terminology is the Skill Gauge. Knowing when to burn your Skill Gauge to secure a round versus saving it for the next neutral interaction is a skill that will separate the average players from the undisputed tournament champions.

Grassroots Tournaments Sprouting Up

The palpable excitement for this server test extends far beyond standard online matchmaking. Grassroots FGC organizers are already stepping up to the plate. Over on the larger fighting game subreddits, local tournament organizers in New Jersey have announced an in-person, offline bracket scheduled for Saturday, July 25th, landing right in the middle of the testing window.

Hosted at a local trading card shop just down the street from the legendary 8 on the Break arcade, this event proves that the offline community is starved for a fresh, high-energy tag fighter. Even with unoptimized technology, dropped combos, and day-one strategies, watching local players figure out the meta in real-time is the absolute essence of the fighting game community. We anticipate many more pop-up brackets and local sessions emerging across the globe this weekend as players rush to find the most broken setups.

Beyond the Beta: The August 6 Launch

The weekend activities will exclusively focus on versus combat and online matchmaking, but do not forget what awaits the player base on August 6th. The full retail game will feature an extensive single-player Episode Mode, where all five heroic and villainous factions must face off against the imposing cosmic elder, the Champion of the Universe. Furthermore, Arc System Works has already confirmed a Year 1 DLC roadmap that will inject four additional characters and one new stage into the ecosystem, ensuring the meta continues to evolve long after launch.

For now, your mission is simple. Download the client on your platform of choice, pick your favorite squad of four, master your Assemble Gauge timings, and whatever you do—stay out of the corner, or you might end up on the wrong side of a Happy New Year combo highlight reel.